Saundra Graham
Graham circa 1977
Member of the Cambridge City Council
In office
1971–1989
Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
from the 4th Middlesex district
In office
1977–1988
Personal details
Born(1941-09-05)September 5, 1941
DiedJune 23, 2023(2023-06-23) (aged 81)

Saundra Graham (September 5, 1941[1][2] – June 23, 2023[3]) was an American independent politician from Cambridge, Massachusetts.[4] She served as a Cambridge City Councilor from 1971 to 1989,[5] and represented the 4th Middlesex district in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1977 to 1988.[4]

In 1968, Graham became a member of the Cambridge Community Center’s board of directors. Two years later, she was chosen as president of the Riverside Planning Team, a group of housing activists in the Cambridge neighborhood of Riverside.[6] In 1970, the Riverside Planning Team interrupted Harvard's commencement ceremony, and Graham stormed the stage and demanded that the university dedicate land in Riverside which had been set aside for a planned dorm to low-income housing.[7][8] Members of the Harvard Corporation met with Graham and the activists, and after several hours they reached an agreement in which the university would build low-income housing on a different site. The following year, Graham was elected the first African-American woman on the Cambridge City Council, and she went on to become the first Black woman to represent Cambridge in the state legislature.[7][8]

Graham died on June 23, 2023, at the age of 81.[9]

References

  1. ↑
  2. ↑ https://cambridgeblackhistoryproject.org/project/saundra-graham/
  3. ↑ https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/bostonglobe/name/saundra-graham-obituary?id=52398590
  4. 1 2 "History of Women in the Massachusetts Legislature 1923 – 2015" (PDF). Massachusetts Caucus of Women Legislators. 2015. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
  5. ↑ Hayden, Robert C. (1991). African-Americans in Boston: More than 350 Years (2nd ed.). Boston, Massachusetts: Trustees of the Public Library of the City of Boston. p. 99. ISBN 0-89073-083-0.
  6. ↑ "Self-Guided Tour: Women Activists of Riverside 50 Years After Suffrage | History Cambridge". historycambridge.org. Retrieved 2021-09-30.
  7. 1 2 Gell, Jeffrey (June 6, 1995). "Woman Storms, Takes Over Ceremony". Harvard Crimson.
  8. 1 2 Lear, Henry; Wall-Feng, Bea (October 6, 2022). "Treeland: The High-Rises Harvard Never Built". Harvard Crimson.
  9. ↑ Saundra Graham, dies at 81; legislator and leader who stormed Harvard stage against displacement


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